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Winning Bids

Shaun Tolson

APRIL 01, 2014

An infamous electric guitar, revered Scottish racing vehicles, the first American gold coin, and more.

$3.2 million

During an RM Auctions sale in Paris in early February, a handful of noteworthy racecars crossed the block, including a 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder and a 2008 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Le Mans prototype, though few met their reserves. One that did, a 1982 Porsche 956 Group C Sports-Prototype, sold for €2,352,000 (about $3.2 million).

Porsche’s 956 was the German automaker’s first model to feature monocoque construction and it dominated the racing circuit during the early to mid-1980s. Not only did the 956 claim four straight Le Mans victories (from 1982 to 1985), but a trio of them swept the Le Mans podium in 1982 in only the model’s second race. The example that sold in Paris finished third overall that year—a noteworthy accomplishment considering that the car was in ninth place at the halfway point and entered the top three with less than an hour to go in the race.

Following its third place finish at Le Mans in 1982, this particular car (chassis 956-004) entered a number of other races and was piloted by noteworthy Porsche drivers the likes of Derek Bell and Jürgen Barth. The car underwent extensive safety testing (as well as a factory-supervised rebuild) when it was purchased from the factory in 1990. Since that time, the car has seen little use.